By SportsDayDFW sportswebsports@dallasnews.com12:28 am on August 27, 2012

MIKE HEIKAStaff writer

Dirk Nowitzki staged an impromptu Q&A on Twitter on Sunday and told fans he would like to play at least two more seasons, and that he bleeds Mavericks blue.

The 34-year-old Mavericks forward responded to one question asking how many more years he wanted to play with: “2 for sure and then see how I feel.” Nowitzki has two years remaining on the four-year, $80 million deal he signed in 2010.

When asked why he doesn’t just jump to a “Super Team” and try to win a championship elsewhere, Nowitzki replied: “I bleed blue.”

Those are positive signs for Mavericks fans after a tough summer of pursuing Deron Williams and losing out on the Brooklyn point guard. When asked if he feels the team the Mavericks have put together can win a championship this season, Nowitzki replied: “I always feel that way.”

The Q&A was interesting in that Nowitzki offered that he had 20 minutes if anyone wanted to ask him a question. He stayed on Twitter for about an hour and covered a long list of topics.

Asked if he was still friends with Jason Terry, who left in the summer to sign as a free agent with the Celtics, Nowitzki replied: “yep. Fam for life. We won chip together. Wish him well in Boston.”

He also listed Steve Nash and Michael Finley as his “homeboys.”

In other categories, he said:

He prefers dogs to cats.

His favorite bands are the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.

His favorite movie is Braveheart.

His favorite TV show is Eastbound and Down.

He prefers red wine to beer.

If he was a flavor of ice cream, it would be vanilla.

His favorite color is “blue and green.”

He hates cockroaches.

If he wasn’t a basketball player, he would be a rock star or a painter.

DALLAS -- With the Dallas Mavericks' 12-season playoff streak in question, star forward Dirk Nowitzki expressed strong doubt about the front office's plan for the franchise's future, even wondering whether it'd be in the Mavs' best interests to trade him.

Nowitzki, who was admittedly disappointed and frustrated after the Mavs dropped to eight games below .500 with their eighth loss in nine games Saturday night, told ESPNDallas.com that owner Mark Cuban's post-lockout decision to let Tyson Chandler and other key members of the 2011 title team leave could be judged as "a mistake or not" after seeing whether the Mavs are able to make any major personnel moves this summer.

The plan was to acquire a legitimate superstar in his prime -- or possibly even two -- to lighten the 34-year-old Nowitzki's load in the latter stage of his surefire Hall of Fame career. But Chris Paul and Dwight Howard did not hit the free-agency market last summer as anticipated when Dallas decided to create significant salary-cap space for the first time in Cuban's 13-year ownership tenure -- they both can be free agents this summer -- and the Mavs' recruiting efforts failed to land Deron Williams.

"It's going to be tough now," Nowitzki said after the Mavs' home overtime loss to the Western Conference cellar-dwelling New Orleans Hornets. "I always liked to think you don't want to build your franchise on hope.

"We hoped for Deron last year. We hoped for Dwight. Why would he leave the Lakers? To me, it makes no sense. He's in a great situation. Why would CP3 leave? [The Los Angeles Clippers are] the best team in the league probably right now. They're probably the deepest team. So are you going to hope that we get something?

"Maybe Cuban has something up his sleeve. Maybe you have to take a chance on a bad contract to get him in here and make something happen. I mean, I don't know. That's something we'll have to see this summer. We're going to play out this season. I'm going to get better and better, hopefully from game to game, so I can actually close out some of these games. And then we'll see what happens."

Nowitzki reiterated those exact comments after Monday's shootaround in Utah and clairified any confusion about any discussions of him being traded.

"I never said I was going to be traded," Nowitzki told reporters Monday. "I said what I said numerous times: We have two options. We tried to sign (Deron Williams), but we didn't sign him, so we have two options: We either trade everybody and start over or we bring in a bunch of one-year deals -- which we did -- and try to be a player this summer."

Cuban took Nowitzki's comments in stride when contacted Monday morning.

"Dirk gets upset when we are in a tough period," Cuban replied in an email to ESPNDallas.com. "If you only knew the things he has said to me during recent seasons about our team. I'm glad I didn't listen

"That's Dirk. He uses being mad for personal motivation. No one on this team should be happy with the way we are playing right now. I know I'm not. But we aren't going to change our approach. We will be opportunistic and try to get this season turned around."

At 13-21, the Mavs entered Sunday 5½ games out of the West's eighth seed, and there are only two teams in the conference with worse records. It's an unfamiliar feeling for a franchise that had its streak of 11 50-win seasons end during last season's lockout-compressed campaign, when the stripped-down Mavs' title defense ended with a first-round sweep at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Now Nowitzki, who notes that the Mavs' playoff hopes wouldn't be nearly so bleak had he not missed the first 27 games of the season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, is the centerpiece of a struggling team with chemistry concerns, surrounded by newcomers whose contracts expire at the end of the season.

That's the risk the Mavs took when they opted to make financial flexibility a priority in an attempt to hit a home run in free agency.

"We knew that coming in, that eight or nine new guys on one-year deals is not really an ideal situation, but what else is there to do?" Nowitzki said. "So either you break the whole thing up and trade me, or you get a bunch of one-year deals and try to be a player next summer. That's the decision we made, so now we've got to fight through it."

That was the second time in a week that Nowitzki, who has a no-trade clause in his four-year, $80 million contract that expires after the 2013-14 season, mentioned the possibility of trading him.

However, Nowitzki said he has not seriously considered playing for another franchise. The 15-year veteran and 11-time All-Star has consistently said he wants to play his entire career for the Mavs.

"The only reason I would leave -- or would have left -- is if we wouldn't have won the championship, and I would have been like a Karl Malone and [Gary] Payton going to join Kobe and Shaq in L.A. like they did at the end," Nowitzki said. "But now I've got a ring and obviously want to finish my career here. But I also want to be competitive."As for the players the Mavericks did bring in, Nowitzki, talking earlier in the week, said he and Chris Kaman have not logged many minutes together since Nowitzki's return because they are both defensively challenged.

"Chris and myself both can't guard nobody," Nowitzki said.

Nowitzki and Kaman started against the Hornets, but Kaman did not return to the game in the fourth quarter or in overtime.

"They've got to hold their own," coach Rick Carlisle said of Nowitzki and Kaman before Saturday's loss. "They have good length. We just have to bring enough physicality to that lineup, with them and with other guys that would be in there with them, to make it work.

"Offensively, it should be a good scoring lineup because both those guys are good offensive players.

"Going forward, we've got to make this work. If it turns out that something is a better situation, then we've got to look at it."

Shawn Marion, who also started in the 99-96 loss, echoed those concerns.

"It seems like we can't guard nobody," Marion said. "Until we're able to contain guys and make them do something they're uncomfortable doing, we're going to have problems. When you can't guard nobody, you can't win."

SALT LAKE CITY — Dirk Nowitzki said he’s never asked to be traded and would like to spend the rest of his career with the Dallas Mavericks.

After Monday morning’s shoot around at the Energy Solutions Arena, Nowitzki said he plans to stick with whatever decisions Mavs management makes as they attempt to turn around a season that has the Mavs floundering with a 13-21 record.

“I never said I was going to be traded,’’ Nowitzki said. “What I’ve said numerous of times that you have two options. “We tried to sign [Deron Williams last summer], and we didn’t sign him, so we have two options.

“We either trade everybody and start over, or we bring in a bunch of one-year deals -- which we did -- and try to be a player next summer and, that’s what we went for.

“And we’re going through that now with eight new guys, and it’s a little ugly at times. But we’ve got to fight through it.’’

With the Mavs losing 11 of their past 13 games, it has been one of the most difficult and frustrating periods of Nowitzki’s 14-year career. Especially when the Mavs would have to flip a switch and get cranking in the right direction just to have any chance of extending their streak of advancing to the playoffs to 13 years in a row.

Nowitzki, meanwhile, has seen the long faces inside and outside the locker room.

“It’s a lot of losing, and people are on the edge,’’ Nowitzki said. “Obviously more coaches and the management and the players, and so the whole atmosphere is obviously not fun to be around.

“It’s not supposed to when you’re losing, so you’ve got to keep on pushing.’’

The Mavs, who released forward Chris Douglas-Roberts on Sunday, will try and stem the tide at 8 tonight when they play the Utah Jazz. But it won’t be easy, particularly since the Jazz defeated the Mavs, 113-94, on Oct. 31.

In the meantime, Nowitzki has only been back for seven games as he still tries to get his conditioning intact after he underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery on Oct. 19.

“I’m frustrated that I missed two months, and I’m not quite there yet where I can close those games out, which I should, especially the New Orleans game,’’ Nowitzki said. “I’m just not quite there yet, so the whole situation is just frustrating.

“Obviously when we put this team together in the offseason and we got Darren [Collison] and we got [Chris] Kaman, we didn’t think I was going to miss two months.’’

In other words, Nowitzki believes had he been healthy on opening day, the Mavs wouldn’t be having issues wondering if they’re going to even make the playoffs this season.

“I think if I was healthy all season we’d still play right and we would have won a couple of more [games] and be basically hopefully right around .500 and we’d still be fighting for the eighth spot,’’ Nowitzki said. “But me missing two months kind of put us behind the eight ball.’’

The Mavs, who are closing in on signing guard Mike James to a 10-day contract, have been all over the map in terms of collecting more than their share of losses.

They are 0-7 in overtime games and also have lost another eight games by 20 or more points.

“We’ve been in games, which we couldn’t say all season,’’ Nowitzki said. “I think we have the most 20-point losses of any team in the league, which is obviously not good.

“But I think we’ve turned it around a little bit. We took OKC to overtime, we took Miami to overtime, and the other day we lose a game [to New Orleans] in overtime at home.’’

Nowitzki, however, knows that basketball is a results game. Losing close games don’t count.

“I think we’re competing -- we’re right there. We’ve just got find a way to win those games.

“We need to be a little smarter down the stretch, not to turn the ball over, take good shots, and get some big stops, big rebounds down the stretch. All the little things that help you win games down the stretch.’’

With 48 games remaining in the season, Nowitzki knows there’s plenty of time left for the Mavs to get on a roll.

“I’m obviously pushing and trying to get better, trying to do stuff after practice like I always do, and shoot and get to the point where I can take games over down the stretch, then I’m sure we’ll win our fair share,’’ Nowitzki said. “I’m going to keep pushing -- that’s the only way I know.

“I never quit. I’m [going to] keep pushing and get back to the level where I was at the end of last year when my knee was right. I’m starting to play better again and that’s where I want to get ultimately here, and hopefully soon.’’

DALLAS -- Mark Cuban says he plans to keep star Dirk Nowitzki even though the Dallas Mavericks have their worst record since a few months after he bought the team in 2000.

Cuban said before Saturday night's game against Memphis that he wanted to be clear with Nowitzki that he was committed "through thick and thin" to getting the team back in contention.

Dallas recently fell 10 games under .500 for the first time since Nowitzki's second season in 1999-2000. Since then, the Mavericks have made the playoffs 12 straight years and won the title in 2011.

Nowitzki has a no-trade clause in his four-year, $80 million contract that expires after the 2013-14 season. The no-trade gives him the right to veto any trade, but he repeatedly has said that he intends to retire as a Maverick.

The Mavericks are playing with a revamped roster for the second straight season after Cuban decided not to bring back several key players from the championship team.

"I told Dirk we're not going to trade him. He was happy. I think," Cuban said, laughing. "I wanted to make it clear to him. I said, 'We're in this through thick and thin,' and so there's no way I would trade him, no matter what."

Nowitzki, who missed the first 27 games after the first knee surgery of his career, blew off some steam after a recent loss by saying the Mavericks couldn't count on landing a big name in free agency next summer after they missed on Deron Williams last offseason. It was an indirect shot at Cuban's decision to let Tyson Chandler and others go after the franchise's first title.

"When Dirk has something on this mind, he's never shy," Cuban said. "If he's going to tell you what he said in the media, you don't think he's going to dump on me? I mean, I've got texts from every single year and emails from every single year. Dirk wants to get it out of his system and then at the end of the email or text it's like, `Don't you worry. I'm a warrior and I'm going to lead these guys and we're going to get it rolling."

The Mavericks added guards O.J. Mayo and Darren Collison, center Chris Kaman and forward Elton Brand on short-term deals with the idea that they could pursue big names later, but also with the belief that the team could win now with Nowitzki. When the 7-foot German couldn't make it through training camp without pain in his right knee, Dallas was suddenly figuring out how to survive without him.

The Mavericks actually did OK at 12-15 while Nowitzki was out, but he was sluggish the first few games during a rough part of the schedule. Dallas lost nine of 10 and fell to 13-23 before beating Sacramento on Thursday in a game that also snapped an NBA record-tying 10-game overtime losing streak.

Nowitzki had a hand in a few of the defeats, missing key free throws late in losses to New Orleans and Miami.

"The odds of Dirk missing the free throws ... I would have taken that bet anytime, anywhere," Cuban said. "It just takes time. No one hurts more about it than Dirk. And there's nobody who's a bigger warrior and that's why I won't ever trade him."

That doesn't mean the Mavericks won't be active before the Feb. 21 trading deadline. Cuban said there was a "100 percent chance we're going to try to look to do something." He says the Mavericks could benefit from other teams trying to avoid harsher luxury tax rules that kick in next year.

Mark Cuban Expects Dirk To Maintain Current Level Of Play For At Least Three More Seasons

The golden rule in the era of salary caps is don’t pay age.

Especially in baseball and basketball, where the contracts are guaranteed. You don’t want to get stuck with a big note on an aging player. That handcuffs a franchise financially. Ask Jerry Jones.

Dirk Nowitzki is just such a player. He turns 35 in June, and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban must write him checks totaling $22.7 million for next season, the final year of his contract.

Cuban will write those checks with a smile — and intends to write checks to Nowitzki for future seasons as well. Cuban lives to defy conventional logic. He doesn’t see the window closing any time soon on Nowitzki as a potential cornerstone piece of a championship team.

Dirk isn’t playing like a 34-year-old. He’s had five double-doubles in the last month and has helped fuel a 6-2 charge in March that has revived the franchise’s flagging playoff hopes.

Nowitzki scored 20 against Brooklyn, 22 against Houston and 19 against Milwaukee during that stretch, all victories. He also had back-to-back 11-rebound games this week against Milwaukee and San Antonio and grabbed 11 more in Friday night’s 96-86 victory over Cleveland.

“Dirk is dialed in,” Cuban said. “He wants to see how far we can take this. What we’re seeing now from Dirk is what we can expect to see from him next year … and the year after that … and the year after that. At least.”

Cuban’s had a hand in his franchise’s fountain of youth. When he bought the Mavericks, Cuban brought in nutritionists and started providing meals for his team. Take care of your body, was his message, and it will take care of you.

Players are more attuned now to what they put in their bodies and how they care for those bodies. That’s slowed down the aging process in all sports. Jaromir Jagr leads the Stars in scoring this season at age 40.

Duncan powered the San Antonio Spurs to a victory over the Mavericks just the other night with a 28-point, 19-rebound effort. He sure didn’t play like someone who is turning 37 in April. Garnett turns 36 in May. Pierce is 35 this season, Bryant 34 and Gasol 32.

“Is Kevin Garnett a role player?” Cuban asked. “Is Tim Duncan a role player? Do you think those guys are going to be role players next year?”

Vince Carter is the sixth man on the Mavericks but has played the third-most minutes on the team this season. He poured in 22 points against Minnesota and 23 against Milwaukee in victories this week. He’s no role player for the Mavericks — and he’s 36.

“Thirty-six is the new 30,” Cuban said. “It’s a plus-six right now. Ten years from now it will be a plus-10. Guys that are coming out of college now will be playing at 42 and 43 if they’re good.

“Look at Vince, for gosh sakes. What’s he … 93? [Actually] 36? That’s a plus-two on Dirk. It’s just different now.”

Still, Nowitzki is an exception. So are Duncan and Bryant. The great ones always are. You still need a blend of experience and youth to play into June in the NBA.

Cuban believes he has the experience in place with Nowitzki. Now he needs to surround him with youthful energy, legs and talent to maximize what Nowitzki can still offer.

Cuban will need to do more than just sign checks for Dirk in the future. He’ll need to put a team around Nowitzki so that all those millions don’t go to waste. Maybe Dirk can play a long time. But he can’t play forever.

There is no bitter expression hidden underneath Dirk Nowitzki's mangy beard. No covert biting of the tongue, either.

The Dallas Mavericks star may have been critical of his owner's approach in the past, back when the wounds of Mark Cuban's cold and calculated roster-building ways were still fresh. But as Nowitzki nears the end of this memorable stretch of 12 consecutive postseason berths and ponders his future, the future Hall of Famer who vowed not to shave until his team reached the .500 mark swears he's not still upset about the way Cuban broke up the 2010-11 championship team and ushered in all this mediocrity.

But if nothing has changed by next season, if the Mavericks' imperfect-but-prudent plan to counteract the league's harsh new collective bargaining agreement backfires because they aren't able to land an impactful free agent this summer and return to the elite level during the twilight of Nowitzki's career? Might Nowitzki — who will be a free agent in the summer of 2014 — considering retiring in a jersey other than the Mavs' one he has always worn?

"Now that I already reached my goal (of winning it all), I really want to finish my career in Dallas," Nowitzki told USA TODAY Sports recently. "But saying all that, I don't want another year next year with the same as this year, (with) the frustration and playing for the eight or nine seed. I think we all know that this is a very big summer for us. (Mavericks general manager) Donnie (Nelson) knows. Cuban knows. We want to get back to the championship level."